1. Financial Freedom of Filipinos in Personal
Finance Management
Christian Anthony Ruiz Flores
2. Background of the Study
Financial Freedom of Filipinos in Personal Finance
Management are composed of four categories, namely
Cash management, Debt management, Risk
management, and Wealth management (CDRW) where
we can achieve financial freedom using different
financial instrument thru comprehensive financial
planning.
4. Statement of the Problem
Most of the people don’t know the purpose of each financial
instrument and its importance to personal finance portfolio to get
true financial wellness and be prepared for any uncertainties in life
– that’s because of lack of financial literacy. People with lack of
financial awareness always think how to spend their cash, when
they get their salary or bonuses, they think immediately how to
spend all their money on-hand, those things that they don’t need
but just to impress other people. They don’t ever think or ask their
selves – what if they save or invest their money, so they will earn
more or double their money in certain time. Hence, this study
attempts to answer the following questions:
5. Statement of the Problem
1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1 Sex,
1.2 Civil Status,
1.3 Age, and
1.4 Number of children?
2. What is the work profile of the respondents with respect to:
2.1 Work Position,
2.2 Number of years working,
2.3 Monthly Income?
6. Statement of the Problem
3. How do the respondents assess their personal finance in relation to:
3.1 Cash management,
3.2 Debt management,
3.3 Risk Management, and
3.4 Wealth Management?
4. What is the degree of financial freedom of the respondents in relation to the
aforementioned variables stated in Problem No. 3
5. To what extend do cash management, debt management, risk management,
and wealth management significantly contribute to the financial
freedom of the respondents?
7. Hypothesis of the Study
The hypothesis of the study is as follows:
1. Cash management does not significantly contribute to the financial
freedom of the respondents.
2. Debt management does not significantly contribute to the financial
freedom of the respondents.
3. Risk management does not significantly contribute to the financial
freedom of the respondents.
4. Wealth management does not significantly contribute to the financial
freedom of the respondents.
8. Respondent
The respondents of this study were limited to ten (10) multinational
companies listed in the Philippine stock exchange index. Out of the top
twenty (20) actively performing corporations the researcher chose ten based
on the business industry suggestion, criteria and accessible location. The list
of these institutions was obtained from the Philippine stock exchange.
Specifically, information was drawn from the executive top management,
middle management and the staff. A total of 150 respondents from all the
multinational corporations participated in the study. Fifty respondents were
purposively identified as members of the top management or executives, as
follows: forty middle management, and 60 management staff. These
respondents were randomly chosen.
9. Statistical Treatment of Data
Adopted personal finance management practices of the top management,
middle management, and the staff, problems encountered in the
implementation of these financial management practices, solutions adopted
to address these problems were presented in graphical or tabular form
showing frequencies or percentages and using ranking procedures.
Therefore, the researcher used weighted mean formula;
The researcher also used linear regression analysis formula;
10. Statistical Treatment of Data
The level of implementation of the adopted personal finance
management practices were determined through the use of the
weighted mean which is a measure of central tendency. The
interpretation of the results was based on the following scheme:
Another table was used for the degree of financial freedom.
Descriptive Scale Description
3.28 – 4.0 Strongly agree
2.52 – 3.27 Agree
1.76 – 2.51 Disagree
1.00 – 1.75 Strongly disagree
11. Conclusions
The following conclusions were derived from the result of the study.
1. As a result of findings to the demographic profile most of the
respondents are male more than female and majority of them are
married and they belong to the age from 31-40 with and majority of
having 1-2 children.
2. To sum things up of findings to the work profile most of the
respondents are in the rank and file position and majority of the
respondents are 11-18 years working and most of the respondents are
earning P30,000 or above.
12. Conclusions
3. As a final observation of findings in terms of personal finance variables
3.1 Cash Management. Majority agreed to the statement that “leaving cash at
home may not be protected if it is stolen or destroyed in the event of
robbery or fire and might accidentally throw it out or leave it behind.”
3.2 Debt Management. Most of the respondents agreed to the statement that
“pay off the most expensive debt first and pay more than the minimum
balance, so you can finish the highest interest debt and earn rebate thru
advance payment.”
3.3 Risk Management. Majority agreed to both statements;
“Your investment is a good way to make money, but not having health
coverage is the worst way to lose it all. Death causes family loss. You’re
the financial provider and unexpected happened. Your family will survive
physically but die financially.”
3.4 Wealth Management. Most of the respondents agreed to the statement that
“Investing early will help develop positive spending habits earlier on
because it teaches important lessons about budgeting, spending, and
savings – people who practice investing early are less likely to overspend or
be careless with their money in the long run.
13. Conclusions
4. In terms of financial freedom, the finding show the degree of financial
freedom having or efficient. However, their cash management is good and
needs for improvement.
5. In terms of hypothesis testing,
5.1 Hypothesis No. 1. Using multiple regression and statistical results, the
finding show Cash management does not significantly contribute
to the financial freedom of the respondents.
5.2 Hypothesis No. 2. The finding shows using multiple regression and
statistical results the Debt management does not significantly
contribute to the financial freedom of the respondents.
5.3 Hypothesis No. 3. Using multiple regression and statistical results, the
finding show Risk management does not significantly contribute
to the financial freedom of the respondents.
5.4 Hypothesis No. 4. The finding shows using multiple regression and
statistical results the Wealth management does not significantly
contribute to the financial freedom of the respondents.
14. Recommendations
In the view of the major findings and conclusions, the following are the
recommendations crafted to improve personal finance among different individuals:
1. Conduct a comparative study on the level of implementation of practices of individual if how
they manage their finances. Financial institutions operate in different environments; thus, it
would be interesting to find out if the level of implementation of practices in other
community also differs from the results provided by other studies, and thus further study is
recommended.
2. For the employees, financial institutions acknowledge the needs and importance of financial
and technical assistance in providing banking, insurance, and investment services. One
institution cannot deliver the breadth of financial services and assessing the business market
alone. Financial institutions must be bundled with other financial actors in sustaining
operation. Enjoining other interest groups like non-bank financial institutions can help
provide more significant contribution to the investment vehicles development and
sustainability.
15. Recommendations
3. Personal finance variables.
3.1 Cash Management. Saving cash in the bank for emergency fund use, even your money is
decreasing due to inflation, it is still important to save money in the bank that can be
accessed quickly for unexpected expenses. The purpose of saving money in the bank is not to beat
the inflation, but to keep the money secured against theft, insects, have depositor
insurance (PDIC), and prepare the emergency fund – (1) money set aside that can be accessed
quickly for unexpected expenses. (2) Vital for emergencies including natural disasters and
unexpected life situations. (3) Generally, 3-6 months of living expenses.
3.2 Debt Management. Mismanaging your debt can lead to disaster of your financial portfolio and
personal credit standing in NFIS (negative finding information system. Pay in advanced the
upcoming due date to get rebate and you can use that rebate for your other bills or needs. To
become debt-free you can use these strategies (1) create a budget, (2) pay off the most
expensive debt first, (3) pay more than the minimum balance, (4) halt your credit card spending,
(5) put work bonuses toward debt, (6) delete credit card information from online stores, (7)
sell unwanted gifts and household items, (8) change your habits, then reward yourself when you
reach milestones.
16. Recommendations
3.3 Risk Management. Managing the risk is the purpose of insurance. In life insurance, I
don’t call it “Life Insurance,” I call it “Love Insurance.” We buy it because we want to
leave a legacy for those we love. Non-life coverage can protect either people or their
belongings, it is a broad category, including on both people and things.
3.4 Wealth Management. The significance of investment to generate wealth, in finance, an
investment is a monetary asset purchased with the idea that the asset will provide
income in the future or will later be sold at a higher price for a profit. The “term
investment” can refer to any mechanism used for generating future income. In the
financial sense, this includes the purchase of bonds, stocks, pooled funds, investing in
business, or real estate property. “Invest in things that will make you rich, not on
things that only make you look or feel rich.” There are two kinds of income; active
income is the income you work for (your time in exchange for money) and passive
income is the income that works for you (other’s people time and assets for money).
17. Recommendations
4. In terms of Financial freedom, It can be said that the different areas of
personal finance discussed in this paper have indeed served as an avenue
for making the financial portfolio of individual to have efficient and effective
in achieving their financial goals. These practices prove that they are
instrumental in the sustainability and development to achieve financial
freedom. The top management, middle management, and rank and file need
to study their budget, expenses, and how much to start allocating their
funds immediately to ensure the smooth implementation of the personal
finance practices.
18. Recommendations
5. In terms of hypothesis testing,
5.1 Hypothesis No. 1. Cash management does not significantly contribute to the financial freedom
of the respondents. However, it is still important to save money in the bank that can be
accessed quickly for unexpected expenses.
5.2 Hypothesis No. 2. Debt management does not significantly contribute to the financial freedom
of the respondents. However, to manage debt, it is highly advisable to pay first the
loan with high interest because it will drag your financial down, so you better finish it
immediately.
5.3 Hypothesis No. 3. Risk management does not significantly contribute to the financial freedom
of the respondents. However, managing the risk is the purpose of insurance.
5.4 Hypothesis No. 4. Wealth management does not significantly contribute to the financial
freedom of the respondents. However, the significance of investment to generate
wealth, in finance, an investment is a monetary asset purchased with the idea that the
asset will provide income in the future or will later be sold at a higher price for a
profit.
